Door hinge and check.



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l f m m1 1n HI T! i 1 I I INVENTOI? m ATTORNEYS PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

G. E. TREADWELL.

DOOR HINGE AND CHECK.

llllll 1 I ii S APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1903.

N0 menu.

mill M 1 ll'llll'iL PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

C. E. TREADWELL.

DOOR HINGE AND CHECK.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.11,1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 7 V7.5

N0 MODEL.

INVENTOH az'ZeJEZhaweZZ WITNESSES:

A TTORNE Y8 UNITED STATES Patented August 2, 1904.

CHARLES E. TREADWELL, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

DOOR HINGE AND CHECK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,746, dated August 2, 1904.

Application filed November 11. 1903. Serial No. 180,694. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. TREADW'ELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and Improved Door Hinge and Check, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a class of doorhinges that support the door to swing-in opposite directions, and has for its object to provide novel details of construction for a doubleacting hinge that adapt it for very effective operation and afford a reliable check for the arrest of the swinging movement of the door at a proper point.

A further object is to provide a ball-bearing for the surfaces of contact between the working members of the hinge which greatly re duces friction between said members and facilitates the swinging movement of the door.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of a door supported to swing in opposite directions by the improved double-acting hinge. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view, substantially on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view of one hinge-joint, taken substantially on the line 3 3 in Fig. Fig. 4 is a horizontal transverse sectional view of one hinge-joint, substantially on the line a 4: in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detached side view of the lower portion of a male section for one hinge-joint. Fig. 6 is a detached vertical sectional view of the female section for one hinge-joint. Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view of working details for one hinge-joint, having a ball-bearing between opposed raceways on the male and female sections thereof. Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse sectional view of a portion of the female section for one hinge-joint, showing the bearingballs in position therein; and Fig. 9 is a detached side view of the working portion of the male hinge-section adapted for operable engagement within the hinge-section shown in Fig. 8.

As the improvement is especially well adaptjoint.

ed for use to support a door that is to swing in a doorway between two rooms or the like in a building and open in either direction and also afford a check to arrest the door at a suitable point for its closure, two similar hingejoints are necessarily provided for the improved double-acting hinge and check, said hinge-joints being spaced apart but joined together, and each affords a hinge and check that becomes operative for the swinging support of the door in accord with the direction in which the door is pressed to open it, and as the construction of the twin hinge-joints is the same a description of one joint will answer for each member of the double-acting hinge.

Each hinge-joint of the pair employed comprises a male section 10 and a female section 11, and, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2, one male section of the double-acting hinge is joined to the female section of the other hinge-joint by a spacingplate 10, which is formed integral or solid therewith and positioned at or near the upper end of said male section and the lower portion of the female section. The male section for each hinge-joint is tubular and at a, near the longitudinal center thereof, is reduced in diameter, affording a shoulder at said point (a and the cylindrical portion 10, which extends below it.

On the part 10 a coarse thread 10 is spirally formed, havingasingle turn around the hollow wall on which it is formed, this thread being produced by an equal reduction of material between the opposite sides of the thread of proper thickness for effective service, and it will be seen that the depending portion 10 in function serves as a pintle for the hinge- On the hollow cylindrical wall 10 a wing or flat leaf 10 is formed or secured so as to project laterally therefrom, and, as shown, the leaf is integral with or aliixed upon the portion of the wall 10 that extends above the shoulder a, but extends below the shoulder preferably the full length of the male joint portions 10 10 and is spaced from the portion 10 to permit engagement of the female joint-section 11 with the pintle 10 and thread thereon. The female section of the hinge-joint consists of a hinge-leaf 11, wherein is formed or secured the tubular formation 11, which extends from one side edge of the leaf, the bottom of'the part 11 being flush with the lower horizontal edge of the leaf 11. The cylindrical formation 11 is of a length equal to that of the pintle portion 10 of the male section and has such interior diameter as adapts the latter to loosely fit thereon for a portion of the length of the female section thatis to say,-from the upper end 6 to a lower point 5, from which point the bore is diametrically reduced to the lower end of the cylindrical wall 11. In the thickened cylindrical wall 11", that extends from the point 7) downward, a spiral groove 0 is formed that equals the pitch of the thread 10" and has a depth and breadth that adapts the groove or channel to receive said thread. The hingeleaf 11 equals the hinge-leaf 10 in width from the lower edge to the upper edge thereof and is afforded clearance in the portion that extends above the upper edge of the tubulation 11 from the cylindrical upper part of the male section 10.

The spiral thread 10 and spiral groove 0 are so positioned with regard to the leaves on the male and female sections that the lower end of the thread will engage within the upper end of the groove when the hollow pintle 10 is inserted into the upper portion of the tubulation 11 and the leaves 10 11 are at their greatest angle of divergence one from the other, or, in other words, when the door having hinges of the improved construction is opened as far as it will swing. WVhen the thread 10" enters the upper end of the grooy e c, it is obvious that the male section of the hinge-jointwill be raised in the female section an extent equal to the pitch of the screw-thread 10, so that the door on which the hinge is affixed will be correspondingly elevated and its weight imposed on the pair for the swinging support of a door A (see.

Fig. 1) upon a casement-jamb B for control of a door opening in a room-wall or the like the hinge-leaves 11 are respectively secured upon an edge (Z of the door A and the vertical trans verse edge a on the casement-jamb, the spacing-plate 10 being disposed between. the hinge-leaves 10 and 11 It will be seen that this arrangement of the duplicate hinges disposes one hinge-joint at one side of the door and the other similar hinge-joint at the Upon pushing the opposite side of the door.

door from either side thereof it will swing upon the hinge-joints that are at thev side of the door toward which itis to swing or at the opposite side from which pressure is applied to move the door on its hinges, the other duplicate hinge-joints that are at the side of the door which receives pressure remaining dormant and only become active when the door is swung in an opposite direction.

As shown in Fig. 2, the door A and capplate C of the door-casement may be sloped each way from a center line, so that the elevation of the door as it is opened in either direction will be permitted by the clearance thus afforded.

' In the construction of the improved hingesurface of the thread on the male section of the hinge-joint, this feature being shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9 of the drawings. To adapt the groove and thread mentioned for an accommodation of a plurality of bearing-balls g, that are of proper diameter and equal size, the lower side wall of the spiral groove 0 is concaved throughput its length, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 at 0, and the vertical wallformed between the terminations of the spiral groove is likewise concaved, as shown at 0 thus pro-= vlding a continuous concave track for the support of the series of bearing-balls. A like concavity c is formed in the lower surface of the .thread on the male sectlon, and the groove 1 that receives said thread 10 is afforded sufficient width to accommodate the thread and the balls g, that nearly fill the spiral groove 0 and vertical connecting-groove 0 It will be seen that the connection of the male and female sections of the hinge-joint and the interposing of a series of bearingballs between the opposed walls of the male and female spiral formations therein afford antifriction-bearing for themale section on the female section, which will facilitate the swinging movement of a heavy door to open it and also adapt the weight of the door to cause a closure of the door automatically.

- The improved means for arresting the swinging of the door when it is nearly closed, so as to insure a proper closure of the same if the door is swung open and allowed to close automatically, is clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 7 and consists of the following details: The lower end portion 11 of the tubulation '11 is closed liquid and air tight by a bottom wall 11", and a bottom wall 10 is secured in the lower end of the hollow pintle 10, that is practically a hollow piston. The upper end of the male section 10 for each hinge-joint of the duplicate hinge is closed by the loose cap 10, from the center of which extends downward the valve-rod 72. which passes loosely through the center of the bottom wall 10, and upon an extension of the valve-rod below said bottom adisk valve 5 is secured. Aperforation K is formed in the bottom wall 10 near the valve-rod l1 and a like perforation is made in the disk valve 1', which may be caused to aline with the perforation 7r, and it will be seen that by a rotatable movement of the valve-rod, which may be effected by turning the cap 10, the passage through the bottom wall 10 and the disk valve may be partially or entirely closed and fully opened, as occasion may require. Two perforations m are also formed in the bottom wall 10 at each side of the valve-rod it, which may be closed by an annular plate-valve m. The annular valve m is hung from the bottom wall 10 by two bolts 12, that are secured in the annular valve and pass loosely up through perforations in the bottom wall 10 the upper ends of the bolts having heads thereon that limit the downward movement of the annular valve 112.

A suitable quantity of liquid D. such as oil, is placed in the lower portion of the female section of each hinge-joint for the double-ace ing hinge, and when the door whereon the hinge is placed is completely opened the elevation of the pintle member or piston 10 of the hinge-joint that becomes active carries the annular valve m above the liquid D, as shown in Figs. 3 and T.

hen the door is released after it has been opened, its weight causes it to swing toward the opening it guards to close it, and this will cause a turning movement of the pintle-section or piston 10, causing a descent of the same in the compartment 11 of the female section for the hinge joint. The annular valve at, having a central opening, exposes the disk valve to permit its contact with the liquid D, and obviously the downward pressure of the pintle member or section 10 causes the annular valve to contact with the bottom wall 10, closing the oil-passages m in the valve. The continued downward pressure of the pintle member or piston 10 forces the liquid D through the alined perforations Zr, which by resistance to the passage of the liquid, due to the restricted opening it passes through, checks the descent of the pintle member and correspondingly retards the closure of the door.

It will be seen that the quantity of liquid placed in the hollow female section of the hinge-joint may be gaged so that the doorcheck will not become operative until the door is partly closed; also, that the openings X may be graduated in size by an adjustment of the cap 10, so that the door-check may be controlled to conform to the weight of the door and act effectively for the quiet-assured closure of the door.

In the pintle or piston portion 10 of the male section of the hinge-joint a proper (listance from the bottom wall 10 a circumferential groove 0 is formed, and a number of perforations u are formed in the bottom of the groove, this provision serving to return any of the liquid D that may be forced upward between the walls of the male and female sections through the perforations 0 down into the hollow pintle or piston 10.

\Vhen the door is closed and the liquid D is transferred from the female section of the hinge-joint to the male section and an opening movement of the door is commenced, the consequent rising movement of the pintle-section 10 will permit the annular valve m to drop away from the bottom wall 10 and open the passages on therein, so that there will be three openings for the descent of the liquid D into the female compartment, which will pass freely and not produce frictional resistance.

The improved hinge has been described as being preferably employed for the support and checking control of the swinging movement of a door in two directions; but it is to be understood that by separating the doubleacting hinges the hinge may be used to support and automatically check the closure of a door that swings in but one direction and when closed has contact in the usual way with the door frame or casement.

The improved hinge is preferably provided with oil or other suitable liquid as a means for checking the descent of the male portion of the hinge in the other member of the same; but it is to be understood that if the joint between the male and female members is sufliciently tight air may be substituted for a liquid to serve as a retarding agent.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A hinge and check, comprising a tubular female member having a spiral groove therein, a tubular male member or piston havinga projected spiral coil on its lower portion, adapted to work in the groove, the male and female members each havinga hinge-leaf and being also provided with a bottom wall, a disk valve held upon the bottom wall of the piston by means consisting of a rod passing up through the bottom of the piston, and a closing-cap on the top edge of the piston or male member, which by turning controls the disk valve,said valve and the bottom wall of the piston having perforations that maybe alined by turning the cap to produce a full-sized passage, or be reduced in area by a rotatable movement of said cap.

2. A door hinge and check, comprising a hollow male member or piston, a female memher, and a quick-pitch-screw connection between said members, which by gravity of the door cause its closure, a check device for controlling said closure, comprising a disk valve having a perforation at one side of the center, a central rod extending from the valve up through a central perforation in the bottom wall of the hollow piston, a circular cap-plate on the upper end of said rod, and which is a closure for the top of the hollow piston, the perforation in the disk Valve that may aline with a like perforation in the bottom wall of the hollow piston being adjustable in size by a turning movement of the cap plate, the piston bottom wall having a plurality of liquid-passa'ges therein at one side of the perforation that is opposed to the disk valve, an

annular Valve surrounding the disk valve,

and held to reciprocate toward and'from the bottom of the piston on guide rods or bolts, said annular valve closing the liquid-passages it is opposite when the piston descends for cushioning the closure of the door, and dropping away therefrom to open said passages 

